Hero and Shadow
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: Two Spartans that knew nothing of each-other were brought together by fate and a little technological intervention. Now, their mission is to become the defense of a planet in a war of thousands of years against creatures of darkness, all whilst they try to find their own place in it, with its inhabitants.
1. Prologue:Drop Top

**_AN:Soooo! I wanted to make a HaloxRWBY story that involves only two Spartans and their escapades through Remnant with no extra plots aside from the RWBY one and how they can adapt to it! Do enjoy the product that came out of that crazy idea! I own neither RWBY nor Halo, or the characters presented in the story as is. Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Microsoft and RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth._**

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_Multiverses are such a... Fickle... Thing... In one universe, two warrior heroes stood face-to-face with their inevitable demises. They fought bravely against foes too dark to comprehend at first, or against those that burned their homes for many years, those that took family and friends away from them without hesitation. They stood their ground and fought to their last dying breath. _

_Now, one floats aimlessly through the void, while another rests in the glass and sands of the planet he fell to defend. Their stories intertwined once, when one saved the other from demise, granting humanity a victory well-needed. Their stories will meet again now... And they will depend upon each-other to survive a hostile environment and a world on the brink of War..._

_So join me, as I tell the story of two Hyper-Lethal Vectors that may otherwise have never met, had fate and a little magic not decided to unite them._

**_ABOVE UNKNOWN PLANET, EARLY 2553. _**

**_UNSC_ FORWARD UNTO DAWN _AFT SECTION:CRYOBAY_**

... The feeling of warmth that the hulking armored man in the cryogenics tube felt in his chest was his blood beginning to pump normally again. Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 was not sure for how long he had been asleep, but his eyes slowly opened as the condensation on his Visor cleared. His Heads-Up Display booted up and soon, his helmet's sensors picked up increased noise. The shrill wail of proximity alarms soon came to his ears. His combat senses kicked in. Using his two hands, he pushed the top of the cryo-casket open, before jumping to his feet and grabbing his MA5 Rifle from the side.

He looked to the pedestal in the center of the Cryo-Room, to see the small, blue avatar of a short-haired beauty running diagnostics over multiple ship systems... At least from the section they were in. Chief looked to her, then spoke "Cortana, Status report." and he saw her gaze suddenly shift to him. With a smile, she nodded...

"Good to see you're awake, John... We've got several problems, it'd seem... Sleep well?" She smirked.

"Considering..." John shrugged. "What problems?"

"IFF Tag's telling me there's UNSC Personnel aboard and it looks as if we're about to crash onto a planet, John." The woman said "Yank me. I can tell you more on the way to the Cargo Hold." to which John nodded, removing the chip from the pillar and sliding it into his helmet's port. The Spartan dashed one of the darkened, scarlet-lit corridors of the destroyed warship...

"You said we're going to hit a planet..." John hummed. Something felt off. "Where're we landing?"

"Somewhere in the wilderness, if my calculations are correct... Though I'd advise against letting the ship land anywhere." The AI spoke... "Take a right. We're gonna meet our contact just around the corn-" And she stopped as Chief swiveled about and brought his rifle up, only to be greeted by a Designated Marksman Rifle's barrel. A soldier in black SCOUT Armor, netting and everything, appeared, rifle shouldered.

A Spartan... ID Tag B312. The two soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and B312 brought his hand up in a salute. John gave a salute back, before waving the soldier forward, wordlessly. He nodded, tailing behind the Chief as they moved toward the Cargo Hold. John raised three fingers. 312 answered with a quick nod, forming up right beside the Chief. He spoke calmly "What's going on, sir?"

"We're entering the atmosphere of a planet soon." John explained. "Cortana, what's our plan?"

"There's a Pelican in the Cargo Hold. We're taking it and jumping ship before it crash-lands. I've managed to get proper scans of the planet... And she's gonna crash into the Ocean, Chief." The AI spoke over com, before saying calmly "Good to see you again, Noble Six... Been a while since our little trip to the _Autumn_. You'll need to help fill John in on the situation."

"I'll take your word for it, Ma'am..." Six figured this must've been the AI he escorted. He needed more time to process what had happened to him, but he'd take finding a fellow Spartan over more Covenant every day...

The Chief stopped in front of the door to an elevator...

"Watch out when you open it. That section's not pressurized." Cortana warned. John's response was to immediately seal the suit air-tight. Six did the same... And the two Spartans kicked in the door. A gust of wind erupted around them as the hold depressurized. The two Spartans jumped down the shaft, powering their armor thrusters only to touch down safely near the Cargo Hold. Powering the Flashlights on their weapons meant the high-intensity beams cut clean through the poorly-lit darkness. They scanned the walls as they walked inside, looking for the Pelican.

"John, may I suggest something?" Cortana spoke calmly.

"Shoot." The Chief spoke, stopping his sweep as he saw the back landing strut of the Pelican and the nagging feeling of wrongness still at the back of his head. He and Six nodded to each-other and proceeded to advance toward it. The ship shook and rattled, its hull groaning under the stress... He looked around and, without Cortana saying another word, he saw a Manifest pop up on his HUD, with the focused item being a HAVOK Warhead... Military-grade, of course. Good plan. Destroy the ship before it crash-lands...

The Chief tilted his head toward the box containing the HAVOK Nuke. The Spartan-III gave a nod back in response, slinging his DMR onto his back and moving toward the leaded container, kneeling beside it, inputting the code... The box clicked four times and slid open, steam escaping it. The Chief, meanwhile, jumped aboard the Pelican, slotting Cortana into the chip feed and sitting himself down in the pilot's seat. Tapping a few lines of code, as well as commands into the system, the Spartan staggered as the ship shook and groaned again.

Cortana smirked as she powered the systems, then said "Six set up the HAVOK to detonate in one minute."

"That enough time?" John asked.

"Should be just enough." She nodded. Chief looked back and saw the enigmatic black-armored soldier step inside, giving a nod to him, before sitting down in the Blood Tray. The AI spoke with a half-grin "We're ready for takeoff... John, give me the stick for a bit." to which he agreed wordlessly, watching as the back hatch of the Aircraft closed. They felt the ship shudder, its engines thundering as they heated up and came to life.

30 seconds had elapsed already...

"Taking off." Cortana said "Taking gun control... I'm gonna burn a hole through the wall of the ship using our missiles and ammo. Hang on to your helmets!"

20 seconds left...

The rumbling noise intensified and John saw the Titanium-A wall ahead spark and explode. The nose-mounted 30mm Gatling Gun punched through it, using Armor Piercing rounds. Cortana hovered her 'hand' over the Rocket Pods, waiting for a time where the wall would be weak enough to punch through, before muttering "15, 14, 13..." and... Firing. A dozen missiles screamed from their wing mounts, striking the wall and drilling a nicely-sized hole into all of its layers... Air hissed as objects began to be sucked out... But soon, as the smoke cleared, they could see the planet...

5...

4...

Cortana boosted the engines to maximum...

3...

2...

The aircraft burst through the opening and arched down, its engines entering maximum thrust and beginning to overheat... John and Six hanged onto their seats tightly, waiting for it... And finally, as the nuke counter clicked 1... And then zero... A bright flash enveloped the starlit background and a wave of radiation and heat passed the vehicle, pushing it into Mach speeds. Its engines died, as did most of its electronics. Only Cortana's pedestal and Life Support were shielded...

"Dammit! The nuke EMP'd us!" Cortana balked "We don't have engines, but I do have Hydraulics control! I'll try to smooth our descent as much as possible, but I can't promise we won't hit the ground like a meteor at this point. I'm working on"

"Hang on!" Chief yelled back.

"Already doing so!" Six answered, sliding the safety harness over himself... John was a bit too big for the Pelican's seatbelt to wrap around him, so he did his best, hanging onto the consoles as the Aircraft dived toward the planet below. Wisps of fire soon formed into a cone at the nose of the ship. The heat from re-entry poured through the ship's hull and the two Spartans felt their skin prickled by the fire...

They were going at around Mach-3 thanks to the explosion. If they didn't manage to slow down...

Cortana managed to power on the ship Console. John saw it had a bit more juice and it didn't short out as its blue-hued screen came online. And two counters pinged onto the screen. The aircraft was dropping altitude fast on the first counter. The second one was seconds before Cortana could power their thrusters... It looked narrower and narrower to the Chief as the aircraft fell through the unknown planet's skies like a boulder. His grip tightened enough to bend the metal alloy...

"Almost got the Engines back!" Cortana stated "Just hang in there!"

The aircraft breached the cloud layer and turbulence started to intensify enough that whatever was in the netting above the seats fell to the floor of the Pelican and then proceeded to slam into the back hatch, thanks to gravity. John himself was pinned to his chair thanks to the ever-growing negative Gs the aircraft pulled in its annoyingly steep descent... He barely managed to glance out of the window to his left, to look at the engine nacelles vectoring, turning downward, as his blood rushed to the back of his skull... He saw the ground approaching afterward...

And the sudden jolt of deceleration made him slam into the metallic console ahead. It cracked and sparked. His shields flared, but remained active. He then found himself slammed forward again as the aircraft's engines stressed and barked, before he managed to look up... And see the ground still approaching, except not straight toward him... They were almost parallel... The aircraft rammed into the ground, bouncing up as one of its engine nacelles and the left landing gear fell off. It skidded, digging a deep trench into the ground, before grinding to a halt just centimeters short of the edge of a cliff... The moon hanged lazily over the sea below said cliff...

Inside the aircraft, the Chief slowly stumbled to his feet. He yanked Cortana's chip from the Holo-pedestal, slid it into his helmet, then stood up. The AI chuckled, then said "This was one of our better landings..." as the Spartan turned to gaze at their passenger... He saw that the harness that held the man down, as well as the back door, had been ripped clean off. The door was dented from the inside out as if something had impacted it... And John could see, in the waking trench left by their crash, the Spartan, his armor, dirty, but now unlocked, slowly staggering to his feet.

The Chief grabbed his Assault Rifle off the floor, slid it onto his back, then walked toward Six as the III dusted himself off. He shook off the dust and whatever concussion he may've had, then looked up to the Chief and gave his okay. He looked to his shoulder and flicked off a stone, before saying "Forgive the brashness, sir, but that landing was... Not the best I've had." before looking around "But not the worst, either..."

Chief gave him a nod. "Ever fall from Orbit?"

"Yessir." Six nodded.

"Let that be the worst you've had." John simply stated. He motioned to the bird. They still had gear to unpack... The Lieutenant moved toward it, with the Chief. The two stripped whatever they could out of the aircraft, ranging from Rifle Ammo to a pair of Battle Rifles and M6 Magnums, as well as ammo for them. The Lieutenant paused once he saw the Chief grab a HAVOK Tactical Warhead... One out of three... From the aircraft. He stowed it on his bottom mount, then took the other two and put one on his left thigh, tossing the second to the Lieutenant.

He nodded, slung it onto his armor's bottom mount too and drew his DMR. The two walked away from the vehicle with around three duffel bags of ammo as well. Cortana'd been very quiet during the Spartans' little scavenging trip... Now she piped up "Be advised:I'm detecting multiple unknowns converging on our position... And judging by their advance pattern, we're probably facing enemies. Unknown types and unknown numbers... Approaching from the thicket ahead."

John noticed the forest and shrubs surrounding their crash site... They must've aggravated something nearby...

He looked to Six as the man drew his Assault Rifle, an MA37K Model AR usually used by the Army. He took a knee, shouldered his rifle and racked the bolt, taking the safety off. John followed, taking his MA5 and kneeling. They covered 180 degrees. Both knew their arcs of fire... Both would kill what came after them. Just as they finished preparing their lines of fire... The first creature emerged.

Black as the night they found themselves with, with manes of shadow and armor of carved bone, with grotesque spikes sticking out of their backs and bodies seemingly mutilated as if they were some kind of experiment gone horribly _wrong_, monsters of the Night resembling of tall, lanky wolves, short, stout and buff two-legged Lizards and even a trio of giant porcupine-like bears charged into the clearing...

Chief and Six exchanged a glance with one-another, though their heads didn't move. The two Spartans were as cohesive as could be. And that showed. The moment John pressed the trigger, the rattle of two Assault Rifles erupted instead of only one. In a sweeping barrage of 7,62 AP Ammunition, a dozen of the smaller creatures were cut down. The Spartans reloaded one after the other and continued pouring lead down range. More smaller creatures died in the hellfire...

John watched as the tall, lanky wolves approached on all fours at breakneck speed, closing the gap between them. At least a dozen of them. And they were wasting their ammo on the small-fries. Small-fries that kept getting closer too... Chief looked to Six, slung his weapon onto his back and withdrew his oversized Bowie Knife from its belt-mount, as well as his M6 Magnum.

He roundhouse kicked one of the wolves down, before plunging his knife upon its unarmored throat, slitting it. Black smoke left the gaping wound as the Spartan fired his pistol into the crowd of monsters coming at them. Thunder cracked and a pump was heard. John turned to see Six with a shotgun in hand, dancing a ballet of death as he spun the pump-action weapon 'round and 'round, nailing enemy after enemy with pellets, while kicking, punching and stabbing.

Whilst he fought, using legwork, he reloaded his Shotgun after a full tube had been spent, before racking the bolt, turning it around and slamming the stock into one of the wolves. He shoved the barrel into the thing's mouth and fired off a blast that splattered bone plate onto the floor. The corpses, the two now noticed, began to dissolve... Cortana hummed as she looked over sensor scans from Chief's armor "Curious... See if you can't retrieve a piece off one of these things for later analysis."

"Kind of..." John grunted, kicking down a creature before stomping on its head and stabbing a third through the head "Busy at the moment."

He _heard _the hiss of claws moving through air and his hand moved up to intercept the claws and paw of the Wolf on his left flank. The Spartan proceeded to drop his knife, toss his pistol into the air, catch the knife and stab the monster in the face with it, before leaving the knife, grabbing the gun and firing two shots into its chest. Shots that would later punch through another two wolves.

He grabbed his Knife from its now-dissolving face, before plunging it into the giant bear-like monstrosity that now attacked him. It pushed into him, kicking up dirt and dust. The Chief quickly offed it with a kick to the top of the head which plunged the knife into its bone plate. He grabbed the Knife and threw it, nailing a lizard that was about to pounce on Six to the floor. The Spartan-III gave his II Counterpart a nod in thanks, before firing his shotgun into the belly of one of the two remaining bears. It collapsed, beginning to dissolve as Six raised his shotgun to block the strike from another claw... The shotgun buckled and broke in half at the center and the claw nicked his shields, but the Spartan managed to back off and draw his sidearm in time... The monster died with five shots center-mass.

Two scarlet-shining explosive projectiles flew into the mass of skittering monsters and detonated, splattering them across. The hiss of a large blade cutting through the air followed. A blur of scarlet rose petals came into view and several monsters lost their heads. A strand of white hair in a mass of the smaller ones ended with sharp ice projectiles nailing multiple monsters to the floor. And then, a blur of inky blackness was followed by blades of a deep purple color slashing more monsters apart. Cortana snorted "New contacts incoming. Human."

A blonde-haired beauty with lilac eyes jumped into the center... She wore a tan jacket that bared her midriff, with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that featured two gold buttons. Underneath this, she wore a low cut yellow crop top with a burning rose on the left, drawn in black. She also wore a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, with her emblem emblazoned on the right-most pleat in gold.

Underneath this was a long, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching to her knee on the right side, as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She wore a pair of brown, knee-high boots and orange over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pushed down just below the knee. A gray bandanna was tied around her left knee and an orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves completed her outfit. A pair of golden gauntlets with barrels and shotgun shell straps wrapped around the gloves.

Following her was a girl with black, short hair and red highlights, as well as a pair of silver eyes. She wielded a massive scarlet scythe that looked like it'd been merged with a Sniper Rifle of the 50 and above Caliber variety. She wore a black dress with her waist wrapped in a corset that had red laces. A belt hanged around the strange, puffy black and red skirt as well, with ammunition and a belt of silver bullets on it. Below that were dark-red leggings and a pair of black and red boots to complete the lineup.

Then, there was an almost entirely white woman with white hair caught in a side ponytail by a tiara, deep blue eyes, a scar over her left eye, a skirt and dress similar to the red girl, a jacket with frills at the wrist-cuffs and a Snowflake emblem on the back. She wielded a Rapier/revolver combo and had the stance of a trained fighter, not too far apart from the other two.

And the last one in was a black-haired beauty with amber eyes, a bow on top of her head, a white shirt underneath a... strange black garm, short white sweatpants linked to a pair of leggings that went from black to lilac and an emblem on them as well. She also had black sleeves locked onto her hands by metal bands and a strange wrap around her right arm. She wielded two blades, one of which seemed to also turn into a handgun.

Chief squinted, noticing they took a circular formation around them... The red-haired girl turned her head and smiled, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. The Spartans joined the formation, mingling in-between the girls and keeping their weapons trained on the creatures ahead. The white one spoke, a hint of worry audible in her voice "Ruby. There's too many of them. I'd suggest we head for the Bullhead with our two..." She glanced to the Spartans "Guests."

"Pfft, c'mon, Weiss, live a little." The blonde one snorted, bouncing from one foot to the other while beaming with excitement.

"I agree with her. We can fight and fall back..." The black-haired one stated simply... "Can't risk ourselves and these two."

The two girls wanted to respond, but a gunshot rang out. One of the Lizards dropped to the floor, missing its forehead. John's gun barrel smoked as he dropped the empty magazine and loaded in a fresh one, before stowing the pistol and readying his knife. For now, the little things didn't impress him. He heard the thunder of a DMR and saw Six poising himself to strike at the creatures too, with two already dead and a bayonet fixed to the end of his rifle... But he was ready to go just as much as John was. Spartans didn't run from a fight, but they didn't waste time either... Whoever had sent these four teenagers to get them clearly wanted them wherever they were...

Six tilted his head to an open route and John nodded... "I'd suggest we leave too. I don't want to waste ammo."

The red girl turned toward the Chief, then said "Alright." with a nod and smile "Let's go, girls!"

And the group beat the retreat, firing as they went. The red girl had barely caught up to the Chief and Six, to point to a landed, round VTOL Aircraft and yell out "There! That's our way out!" as she panted. The Spartans slowed down, to keep pace with the girls, their guns still barking as they went. The group jumped onto the vehicle's open side and climbed aboard and John knocked on the Pilot's door twice. The universal sign for 'all aboard, take off'. The engines of the aircraft vectored and powered, before lifting the vehicle off the ground, with the horde of approaching monsters not too far behind.

The Chief looked to Six, pointed at the Pelican getting swarmed, then at a stock and pair of tubes in the duffel bag. Six nodded, walked up to the weapon, grabbed it, loaded it, then approached the side. The girls' eyes went wide and the blond even called out "W-wait, what are you guys-!"

"Backblast, Clear!" Noble Six called out, locking onto the Pelican and... Firing. A gust of wind kicked up and partly dented the roof of the aircraft and a contrail of smoke followed the missile that left the barrel. It arched through the air, before it struck true, into the fuel reserves of the otherwise-empty Pelican... And the ensuing fireball engulfed quite a few creatures around it.

The two Spartans exchanged glances, then nodded to each-other, while the girls behind them coughed out smoke... A lot of explanations were due, both from them and from the girls. Cortana hummed, then said "John, I think we may need to prep for a long series of questions. We're heading for what seems to be a city of sorts... Right for the center of it."

... Great...


	2. The Beacon

The droning of the Aircraft's engine died down as the vehicle flew to the landing spot. Into view came the massive school that the young girls before them had called Beacon. A city in and of itself, the academy was situated atop Beacon Cliff and housed several important sites, among which being the dorms, the central construct known as Beacon Tower, a gym and mess hall. John saw them all from flight...

And now that they'd disembarked, the duet of Spartans watched the girls stretch, yawning... The blonde one, Yang, she was called, said "Well, it's getting late, girls... Shouldn't we get to bed?"

"We kinda have to get these guys over to the Headmaster." Ruby shrugged. She gasped, realizing, then turning to them and asking "Oh, sorry! We were a bit caught up with the Grimm and we didn't get to introduce ourselves." Then she gave quick waves "Hi... I'm Ruby Rose and..." and slowly, her face morphed from surprise and embarrassment into what the Chief could only describe as starlit eyes and a wide smile. She vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye, before calling out from around a surprised Pair of Spartans "ohmygod YOUR ARMOR IS SO COOL! WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT'S IT MADE OUT OF!? Why do I feel static when I hover my hand above it?"

Six caught her just as she dashed toward his left, about to ask another question. He caught the short one by the hood, stopping her mid-dash. And as a blush returned to her face, she chuckled "Sorry."

"My sis is kind of a weapon geek." The blonde noted, arms crossed and a grin on her face and definitely trying not to gawk, unlike their other two compatriots whose jaws were about to dislocate. Blonde Brawler continued, calmly "So seeing your gear probably tickles her fancy. I'm Yang, by the way. Heya."

"Your friends seem surprised." Six noted, tilting his head toward the other two.

Yang scratched her cheek "Who, Weiss and Blake? Yeah, about that... Not a lot of people can catch Ruby while she's using her semblance and then, there's you, catching her mid-flight like she's a ball in a dodgeball game."

Six hummed, then looked to a still-smiling Ruby. He set the girl down gently, then said "Right..." before looking to the Chief. And as the girls watched on, it was like the two were having some sort of telepathic communication. In truth, the two Spartans had turned off their external helmet microphones and were instead communicating via Single-Beam comms.

"With all due respect, I don't trust them." Six said bluntly to the Chief.

"Unknown teenage combatants that can fight those strange mutated animals?" Chief hummed. "I concur, really. Too off..."

"Speaking of things that are off, John... Your voice?"

... Cortana was right. Something was entirely wrong with his voice. The Spartan marched on for now, willing to process this new bit of information at a later date...

Yang looked back at their two new 'arrivals'. They carried themselves with the air of elite military operatives the likes of which you'd see in Docs about the Atlesian Military that Ruby loved to watch. Though the gear they carried did give Atlas vibes, it seemed too... _Purely utilitarian. _Atlas loved to tickle their own fancy by making their weapons and armor look cool, streamlined. These two resembled more what you'd think of pre-production prototypes of Atlas gear, or maybe something home-brewed, like huntsman kit, but... How long would it've taken them to make this stuff, Yang didn't know.

She turned to Blake, to see her eyeing them more suspiciously than even Weiss, who, mind thee, was sizing them up. The brawler snorted, noticing the height difference as Weiss took a step back to examine the guy in the darker armor. Weiss barely reached the man's elbow. Yang swept her gaze over to Rubes, to see her happily strolling in the lead, humming some sorta old song from a cartoon Yang couldn't really recall right now.

The group of six entered Beacon Tower's lower point through a sliding door, walking past the accountant's desk and toward the elevator that lead up to both the communication room and the headmaster's office. And as they entered it, with the girls leading, they suddenly found themselves pressed up against the wall like sardines in a can... Yang hummed, trying to suck in her gut(and her chest, but that was not working) as to avoid poking the guys in the back. She was Yang, she knew she had abs, not a gut, but that didn't help the fact those two were also shoulder-to-shoulder.

Weiss leaned to the side of the Spartan, curiously gazing upon the armored man's form. She hit the button for-she hoped-the Headmaster's office, before leaning back...

"Well... They're pretty huge." Blake said, her arms and hands glued to the sides of her body thanks to her friends. Her bow twitched...

"That's an understatement..." Weiss murmured, rolling her eyes.

Yang looked to Weiss and whispered "Yo, Ice Queen. You're from up North. Atlas got this kinda armor at their disposal?" as she eyed a nigh-invisible field of energy warping the light around the Spartans' armor. She felt the hairs on her neck stand on-end from the static. Weiss shook her head, but not before shooting a killer glare toward the blonde for the return of that silly nickname.

"If we do, it's either highly-classified, or under testing... _Definitely _not crash-landing near Vale." She returned snarkly, then asked Yang and Ruby "What about Vale? Any plans of rearmament that involve this kind of technology?"

"No... No major reason to." Ruby answered. "I'd love to see what our gun manufacturers can pull, don't misunderstand, but... I don't think we could make stuff like this... It looks a bit too Sci-Fi for that..." And before long, Ruby took to processing this... Slowly, as a jumble of thoughts put a few clear ideas in her head, she grinned and whispered with excitement "Gods above, girls... Think they're _aliens?!"_

"Don't be silly, Ruby. Aliens don't exist..." Weiss berated. "Like you said, that's science..." She slowed her speech as she saw both Ruby and Yang smirking smugly at her... "Fiction... Alright, say they're alien..." She admitted defeat, then looked to the two Supersoldiers, scared "What would they be doing on Remnant?"

"Definitely _not_ hearing every _single _thing you lot are talking about?" Six observed, his voice almost robotic, looking back at them, though his eyes were invisible behind his visor. "We are in an elevator. An enclosed space. Sound reverberates. You wanna speculate about people in the same place as you? Do it _after _they've left."

... All 4 girls looked away, averting his gaze. Ruby hummed awkwardly, Yang whistled awkwardly, blushing, Weiss tapped her foot and frowned... Awkwardly... And Blake put her hands over her bow to stop it from twitching, suddenly finding her own boots very interesting. Chief gave a very light nod to his fellow Hyper-Lethal vector, to thank him for quieting down the teenager posse, while Cortana simply chuckled... The Elevator's doors slid open, revealing a rather large room. Its floor and roof were made of clear glass and through both, the mechanisms running the tower's massive clock were visible. To the left, were the grinding gears that connected top to bottom... To the right, there was a long table with a chessboard in the middle, behind which resided a set of wooden shelves lined with books.

Sitting behind a desk with cogs and gears turning within, an elderly man, his weary face capped off by a mane of scruffy grey hair, gazed at them through a pair of small spectacles. He smiled, interlaced hands on the table. Gazing to the four girls, he locked onto Ruby, then said "Ah, miss Rose. I see you've found survivors from that crash site."

"Yup! Hey, Headmaster." Rose waved, still awkward. "These are..." She motioned to the two Spartans, then froze "Uh..." And she started shaking, turning to the guys with a half-smile that wordlessly said an 'I'm sorry I didn't ask your names'. The two Spartans looked to Ruby, remaining ramrod straight, whilst Ozpin simply snorted at the little awkward moment between the leader of team RWBY and the duet of unknown Supersoldiers...

"John, Six. Just introduce yourselves by rank." Cortana noted. Chief felt her rummaging through his helmet as she tried to make a wireless connection to something... He hummed, then got the answer to his unasked question "I'm trying to get a link into some kind of local network... A planetwide Intranet. Give me a few moments, answer whatever you feel you should. I'll get us more info."

Chief gave a slight nod to Six, before stepping up and speaking "I'm Master Chief Petty Officer 117."

"Lieutenant Beta-312." Six gave a nod to Ozpin. "Call me Six."

"Eh... You guys don't have names?" Yang raised a brow. "Ya serious?"

"Classified." The two Spartans chorused, then looked to each-other and back to Ozpin.

The Headmaster chuckled, then said "You're free to go, girls. I have much to talk about with the Master Chief and Lieutenant."

"Awh, can't we hang arooooo-" Ruby let out a long, drawn-out yawn, before noting "Yeah... Fair... Gotta get to bed... It was nice meeting ya, guys! And... Oh, shoot! We didn't introduce ourselves either, did we?!"

"We didn't, actually...?" Weiss raised a brow. "Huh... Must've lost that in the heat of the moment."

"Well, I ain't gonna let that one go quick!" Ruby proclaimed, a smile on her face. The little red rose was a bubbling character, full of joy and clearly enthusiasm for... Whatever they were doing. She gave a smart salute to the two soldiers, then spoke with her jovial demeanor still awake and alive "Hey, guys! I'm Ruby Rose, team leader of this wonderful assortment of Huntresses known as Team RWBY!"

"..." Weiss paused, lips and eyes narrowed at Ruby... She sighed, shaking her head, then said "Gentlemen. I'm Weiss Schnee. Ruby's partner. I tend to provide the team with close-in support. A pleasure to meet you both." And she nodded approvingly, maintaining a straight posture. She was a more calm, collected... Almost royal figure, just by her attire and way of acting alone.

"Hello." Blake nodded, part shy, part unsure of what she was looking at when talking to the Spartans. To them, she seemed a mysterious figure, a shadow of sorts. A blade in the darkness in the form of an odd, cute girl "I'm Blake Belladonna. In military terms, I'm kind of the scout of the team, I guess...? Nice to meet you."

"Sup, boys!" Yang smirked, leaning shoulder(and herself) on top of Ruby's head, despite the little Rose hurling protests Yang's way. She gave a mock salute, with a pride undaunted, unkempt blonde mane flowing as she looked at the two. "I'm Yang Xiao-Long. Ruby's older sis and the team's resident close-quarters ass-kicker." her confidence pouring out. She was clearly the hotheaded one of the team... She offered a snug "Pleasure to meet both of ya."

"Good to meet all of you." John offered a curt nod.

"... I mean, they're pretty cute." Cortana mumbled in a totally-not-jealous tone.

"Well..." Yang yawned, stretching upward. "Well be goin' to bed. See you 'round, troopers." And she picked Ruby up by the waist. She smirked "I'll just take my loli and walk away." forcing a snort out of Weiss and a chuckle out of Blake as they walked toward the elevator...

"_YAAAAANG_! PUT ME DOWN!" Ruby protested, shaking in Yang's grip. "I CAN WALK! C'MOOOON~ YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!"

The blonde responded with a jovial popping "Nope!" as they entered the elevator, finally clearing the room. The Headmaster let an audible sigh, before turning to his two guests and offering "Do you want some coffee?" and only receiving silent shakes of the head from both men. He shrugged, then took a pot full of the black substance and poured it into his mug, which had an emblem on its front. He hummed, watching as the steam wafted out of the mug itself, before taking a sip and setting it down. He spoke "Well, gentlemen, I must say, your entrance caused _quite _the ruckus... You are lucky I managed to convince the General of the Atlesian Armed Forces to keep away from your crash site..."

Ozpin motioned outward, to the dark sky where what looked like gigantic, block-shaped whales flew. Their bodies lined by white lights and with grey and black hulls, the massive Airships had wings in the far back of the main hull, with what looked like both engines and secondary armaments mounted onto the central attachment point of the wings. Lining the ship were also numerous batteries of weaponry scaled from small Point-Defense to large heavy weapons... Three of these Airships flew above the skyline of a gigantic city in the far distance.

"Huh..." Cortana mused, watching the airships and their escorting VTOL aircraft buzzing above the city "So _that's _why I found a series of highly-encrypted communiques floating about the local intranet... Atlas Military." And she went back to her search "John, I've nearly got enough basic files to get you and Six a briefing... Just talk to the Headmaster a bit more."

"I've also yet to introduce myself, it would seem." The Headmaster noted. "Forgive me, gentlemen. I'm Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy and you are currently in the Kingdom of Vale."

The two Spartans exchanged silent looks and Single-Beam chatter once again, before turning to Ozpin. The Headmaster continued "While I'm fairly certain the name of my Academy and moreso the name of the Kingdom are not familiar to neither of you, gentlemen, I must assure you that you've come into 'friendly territory', to speak in military terms. I presume your crash-landing must've made you privy to the foe that we face too, since team RWBY seemed to be missing a few rounds of ammunition. As do you."

The Headmaster gauged their reactions as he spoke. The Spartans maintained silence for now, probably because he hadn't addressed a question to them. He hummed, then continued "For all that it's worth, I'm glad that you seem to be able fighters. Mankind sorely needs those in this day and age. The Grimm are multiplying at a pace I would have never expected, nor wanted."

"The Grimm?" Six voiced his question first. Good... They could talk.

"Indeed. The monsters you faced." Ozpin answered, sipping from his coffee. "But they aren't our biggest problem, currently."

It only made sense... Chief sighed, then asked the question he knew he would probably regret:"What else are you facing?"

"A cabal, Master Chief. Dissidents that wish to sow panic and chaos within the borders of all four Kingdoms." The Headmaster noted. "And they are moving. Fast. Currently, General Ironwood's Air Fleet, as can be seen out of the window, is present here in preparation for the Vytal Festival, a holiday celebrated every two years since the end of a bloody, brutal conflict that brings together all 4 Kingdoms, their cultures, people and the students of their Huntsman Academies to one place. And this cycle, it is meant to be hosted by Vale and, by extension, Beacon. I fear our Enemy Unknown may act then."

What better time to strike than at a festivity meant to represent peace?

To both, the question remained... "Why tell us this? We've got no stakes in it." as it was voiced by Six.

The Headmaster smiled. Chief sighed... He knew where this was going.

"I need... Associates... People I can trust. I have a small group of trustworthy individuals, but I need someone outside of it too... Someone not tied into this group's machinations. Someone to do the Wet Work. And who better for this kind of job than two soldiers with neither previous allegiances, nor ties to the kingdoms or people here?" His wry smile remained. He continued "You will be provided habitation in Beacon's campus and a cover story as students, or perhaps teachers, should you wish to accept the job. I will brief you of everything if you prove you're trustworthy enough."

... John hummed, then looked outward, to the city of Vale, he presumed. They needed to find a way off the planet, to contact the UNSC and maybe hitch a ride back home. Getting caught up in some shadow war would probably not help in that case, but having an ally on the planet, even if by convenience, could prove a boon. The Spartans would run out of ammo at some point and they most certainly needed time to orient themselves to this planet, whatever it was... He hummed, then turned to Six and switched single-beam com back on.

"_What do you think, Lieutenant?" _He offered his aide a chance to answer.

... Six mulled over the thought for a few moments, before answering "_We may need the financial aid and supplies that he can provide until we figure out our way back home... I'd say we take the job for now. If he's up to fighting folks in the shadows, I know my way around doing that. But we can't live in the school. Too many variables. Too many kids. Even those four seem too green for my liking... If he can find us another cover story, I'd take the job."_

The Chief agreed, giving a light nod to the Lieutenant, before turning to Ozpin. He watched the man extend his hand and spoke sternly "Two conditions."

Ozpin raised a brow. "I am all ears, Master Chief."

"We don't stay on school grounds. You find us another cover story for this... Another place to stay."

"It can be arranged." Ozpin smiled. "And the second one?"

"Supplies. We'll be working on finding our way back to our people as we cooperate, but until then, we'll need food, ammunition, money and spare parts." The Spartan finished off his list. The Headmaster arranged the emerald scarf around his neck, then nodded, confidence in his eyes. The Spartan gripped his hand carefully, but firmly, then shook. The Headmaster smiled, then tapped a few lines onto a holographic display that just appeared on his desk.

"I have called in a favor." He said, looking to Chief and Six. "You have an apartment in the residential area of Vale. I'll give you your first mission and your covers come tomorrow morning. Until then, you may head on out and take the last Bullhead drop ship to the district. The apartment building shouldn't be too far from the landing area. It's called Nikos Towers."

"Thanks..." The Chief said, pulling away from the handshake. He and Six turned to leave.

"Oh, Master Chief, Lieutenant, one more thing." Ozpin said, walking out from behind his desk, cane in hand. The two Spartans turned to him as he leaned on his cane. He offered another curt smile, adding "Welcome to Remnant. I hope you'll find your way home soon. Farewell and good night." as he walked with them to the elevator. Giving one last nod to the Headmaster, they entered the Elevator and Six pressed the button for bottom floor.

The trek back to the landing pad was quiet, as was the flight over. The two Spartans had taken the time to examine the skyline of Vale, watching as, above, Atlas-built dropships and gunships buzzed around their mother ships. The duo had to wonder how many people exactly lived in Vale and how many soldiers had Atlas brought over for the defense... If the General was part of Ozpin's little inner circle, the Chief wondered how smart the man was to have brought what amounts to an occupation force...

"I got some data you two may wanna parse over." Cortana interrupted the monotony. "Data on about as much as I could gather. Vale, the three other kingdoms, the Grimm... It's gonna be a long night's read... Also, did anyone bother to ask the Headmaster how he was going to contact us tomorrow?"

... Oh, damn, right...

Chief looked over to Six, who lifted a strange device out of his pocket, then went for his own... Both had them. With a press of the golden button in the middle, the devices extended into holographic touch-screen displays... With one message. '_Forgive the little reverse pick-pocket, but I__ had to make sure I had ways to contact you. These are Scrolls, Remnant's best in personal communications and assistance tech... Enjoy them, on the house.-Ozpin."_

"Heh. Sneaky old man, this one." Cortana quipped. "We're coming up on the landing spot. Grab your bags, Spartans."

The Chief stood to his feet, watching as the vehicle came to a drop point, staring at the tall tower ahead of them. Built in the style of ancient Greek structures, with pillars of marble at the entrance and everything, the place seemed oddly familiar to Noble Six... For some reason. The duo of soldiers walked inside, weapons and gear on their backs. And upon entry, an African-American man greeted them warmly "Hello! Welcome to Nikos Towers, gentlemen. You must be Headmaster Ozpin's guests. I'm mister Moresby, the concierge. Any questions you may have, you can dial, for I'm always present on-site, save for holidays. If you would follow me..."

... The Spartans examined the place. The foyer was a wide open room, with wooden panels lining the walls, below marble tiling and beautiful paintings. Pillars of marble held aloft the tall, vaulted ceiling and multiple small stores and restaurants were at this floor alone. The central part was depressed into the ground and surrounded by wood panels and four pillars of white marble. Pieces of art, statues of marble, tables... The floor itself was covered in a velvet-red carpet. They reached a hallway that had multiple elevators... Moresby slid a key into a slot beside the elevator in the center and said with a still-peppy smile "You've been assigned the penthouse by request of the Headmaster. I'm sure you will find the view quite breathtaking."

"Right... Thanks..." John hummed... The trip with the elevator was short. Just 16 stories up... And the apartment wasn't any less opulent either. Black marble tiles, red carpets, two floors, multiple bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and, of course, a gigantic window and balcony to look out of, as well as a holo-vision in the middle of a very comfortable living room area... This wasn't what the Spartans were used to. Moresby handed the Chief a keycard and another to Six, then said "Please, enjoy your stay at Nikos Towers... Farewell, gentlemen."

Six dropped whatever he was carrying on a table at the entrance, then said "This is a bit... Opulent, wouldn't you say?"

"Well..." Chief hummed, putting his rifle against the wall "Guess hiding in plain sight works..." He added, going to check the massive dining room... There was also a chimney there. Yeah, this was a bit too much. He sighed, then took Cortana out of his helmet, watching her materialize, a grin on her face. She tilted her head toward the closest bedroom...

"There's a computer in there on a desk. Slot me in and keep it on. I can get more data off the... Let's call it Rem-Net. Until then, I left basic briefings in your suits' systems." She explained as Six approached. "Read through them... Remnant's gonna be a fun little vacation, to be quite honest. At least I hope so... Now, I'd get either to bed or to doing some digging yourselves... Vale's nightlife is quite interesting."

"I'll go see what I can find out outside, if that's okay." Six hummed. "I hate being stuck in one place."

Chief nodded. "Don't draw too much attention."

"Will do..." Six noted, walking out toward the door and grabbing his Battle Rifle. Chief walked into the bedroom, turned on the holo-computer and sat down on the (surprisingly) metal chair. It groaned under duress, but held nonetheless, as the Spartan moved to the computer's side and slid Cortana's chip into the device, letting her do her thing as he leaned back, taking out his Magnum and starting to fiddle with it as he looked over Cortana's very detailed report on Remnant...

... He'd need a lot more data. Especially about getting home.

But for the time being, duty called...


	3. Deterrence for Darkness

Night had passed as fast as the first few hours of their arrival. The two Spartans had marched back toward the Drop Ship, flying out back to Beacon to be given their first mission. Their cover story was in the early morning message, too. It was odd, but doable. They were Huntsmen that had graduated Beacon with top honors and were asked back into the fold by the Headmaster. Huntsmen being a term for the people who were trained to fight the monsters out in the wild, known as Grimm. Cortana's forethought of giving them a quick briefing before they prepared their gear last evening had been a life-saving one.

Chief didn't know how the cover story would go when taking team RWBY-who most likely have seen their descent-into account. He probably needed to not think and just do what was asked, although, to be fair, that wouldn't be so hard. He stood to his feet, followed by Six, as the bird swung by to touch down. Beacon showed the signs of a university-level institution almost immediately to the Spartans. The student body, clad in uniforms, went about their business. Some stopped to stare at the walking tanks, but many chose to keep their heads low or outright ignore the pair of supersoldiers.

One of a group of four jerked a thumb back at them and laughed with his friends, only to turn and see the Chief and Six both glaring at him from behind their visors. The kid, a jock-looking type, turned away quickly and the Spartans walked past them. Entering the tower and going up, the two were met by Ozpin and... A man in a white uniform, with greying, slick, black hair. His longcoat hid behind it a holster for a very boxy-looking handgun and he wore a glove on his right hand.

The uniform under the coat was composed of a gray undercoat, black sweater and a red necktie, with white pants and black dress shoes. He turned to the Spartans and raised a brow, somewhat surprised to see them, before asking "Ozpin, is this what spooked the Airfleet radars by _entering _our atmosphere?" with wide eyes. He walked up to the two men, leaving only a couple of feet distance between them.

"Indeed, James." Ozpin said, standing up. His face betrayed a slight disappointment, perhaps at the man before them having to find out this early.

He looked to the Headmaster with suspicion, then asked "Were you planning on introducing me to them any time soon?"

"Of course. In due time." Ozpin noted, looking to the men, ignoring a slight scoff from General Ironwood. He let out a sigh, then explained "The men you see before you are Lieutenant B312 and Master Chief Petty Officer 117... And, before you do ask, James, I was unable to get any names from them... They are, however, military." and motioned to each as he introduced them. "Let's keep them from our students, shall we? Nobody needs to know who they are."

"I see..." James hummed. He turned to the men, then saluted and said "Greetings, gentlemen. I'm General James Ironwood, of the Atlas Military. I also work as Headmaster for the eponymous Academy of our kingdom. I trust Ozpin has told you at least a bit of what we are dealing with... Because I sincerely doubt anyone would be insane enough to ask two soldiers to join Beacon."

Ozpin took that little jab in stride, noting "I have lightly briefed them, James... And they've agreed to answer to me."

Ironwood snorted, then said "Starting to follow after me and build your own army, Oz? Never thought I'd see the day." to which the Headmaster simply shook his head. The soldiers returned the salutes quickly, nodding to the General... Cortana was still busy working her way into the Remnant Internet, so, for now, she wasn't really all that talkative... The Headmaster went to his desk and took a paper dossier, extending it to the pair.

Chief took the dossier in his hand as Ozpin spoke "Gentlemen, I'm sending you out into Vale's Residential District for your first job. There's been an increase in criminal activity. Small mafia groups have begun coalescing and arming themselves and I fear that, if left unchecked, they'll become a problem within the year. General Ironwood's troops are currently unable to deal with this little intrusion as they are still preparing their outposts, patrol routes, plans and the likes for the security of the Vytal Festival. These mafia groups have well-armed men, but they sorely lack training compared to even Atlas's cadets. We need you to take them out."

Ironwood hummed, somewhat surprised, then looked to the Spartans. He voiced his approval "I assume Ozpin wants to say something along the lines of 'If they see you coming, they'll scatter'. And I do hope he is right. Dealing with a possible threat before it arises would ease the burden on my men."

Chief looked to Six. He could feel the smirk of the Spartan as he was handed the Dossier...

"You want this kind of group gone, Headmaster?" He noted, reading through the dossier and looking at the maps. A quick appraisal of the situation and a plan was formed in Six's head. Provided the Chief would allow him to run it, those bastards would be dead within the hour. "If we're doing it by daylight, I can make it look like an accident." He then offered.

Chief gave him a nod... And the Headmaster seemed approving of it too.

"Dismissed for now. You leave within the hour with a Manta-class transport ship flying Atlesian colors. Good luck, gentlemen." The Headmaster nodded. The two turned to leave as the two Headmasters began talking again. John eyed Six, who put the dossier into his pocket and drew his DMR, racking the bolt and feeding a round into the chamber. The Spartans had left their base of operations armed, expecting the job to become issue number one... They did wonder, however, what the General knew so far.

"Well, that went well." Cortana finally piped up. "James Ironwood, General, Atlas Army. Headmaster of Atlas Academy... This man militarized a school and armed and trained his Huntsmen as soldiers, so we probably shouldn't get on his bad side."

"Got it." Chief hummed. He drew his Assault Rifle, checking if it had a round in the chamber, before putting it back into its place, safety still on. "We've got a job to-"

"Heeey!" They heard a voice call out. Turning to face the sound, they saw team RWBY walking toward them, with Ruby, of all people, waving. She dashed forward, to them, using what could only be described as a whirlwind of rose petals, before stopping right in front of them. She was a fast one, alright. No wonder the girls were surprised when Six stopped her in her tracks. She smiled giddily at them and said "We didn't see you guys coming to the dorms! What happened?"

"We live somewhere else." Six explained. "Rented a place."

"Oooh! Cool!" The redhead gave a toothy grin.

"Any chance we'll get to see the place, boys?" Yang quipped, probably having been within earshot. All four were wearing Beacon student uniforms. The female version. And despite their best attempts, the two did give a few glances toward how fitting the clothing items were. Six shrugged, then looked to the Chief, who hummed and crossed his arms, eyeing Xiao-Long.

"Maybe later." Six quipped.

"Where were you heading?" Weiss inquired, looking over them. Going by the fact they were in full gear, Ozpin must've asked them to do something. It wasn't easy to figure out the Headmaster had offered them a little work... She watched as the two looked to one another again, then unanimously let out "Classified." allowing the Heiress to roll her eyes.

"Heh, well going by the kit, you're going to do some work." The blonde observed, crossing her arms and offering the boys a grin "Need some help? Not to brag, but we are _pretty good _when it comes to kicking butt."

"Heck yeah." Ruby nodded.

"Yang. We have classes." Weiss intervened. "Plus, if they're in full armor, I'm not sure we should be dealing with anything they're working against."

Yang scoffed, looking at Weiss "You know, you're no fun some times. We can ditch... It's just history class."

"Do you _want _to deal with an angry Prof Oobleck?" Blake chipped in, watching as her partner's face turned more and more to disappointment.

"Not you too, Blakey... Rubes, you agree with me, right?" Yang turned to her sister, who, without a shred of hesitation, gave her approval in the form of quick nods. Yang looked to Weiss and Blake and said a smug "See? Team Lead knows what's up."

"You're presuming we're gonna let you tag along."

All four turned to the Chief, who gazed sternly at all of them. Ruby shrunk under her cloak, sidestepping behind Yang, while the blonde seemingly shied away from saying another thing, looking at Chief with slight amusement hidden behind a light grimace. She sighed, hands slumping by her hips, then droned out a "Fiiiiiine... Can we at least talk this out over breakfast?"

"We're gonna be leaving soon." Chief answered swiftly.

"Y'know, it's rude to turn down an offer from a lady." Yang smirked, hands on her hips. She saw that Chief didn't even budge, then sighed and said "Alright, alright... Good luck, fellas." and she stepped away. The rest of the team bid goodbye to them as they left for the staging area... And once they were out of earshot, Yang let out a deep, defeated sigh and said "Man, those two really _are _something else."

"Well, they are military, Yang." Weiss observed. "And the type that are focused on their mission."

"Yeah, but still, shouldn't they be at least _somewhat _sociable?" Yang shrugged.

Blake hummed "Not necessarily. Who knows what they've been through."

"Yeah, I mean, did you see the Master Chief's armor?" Weiss mused. "So many scorch marks, burns and dents. I'm surprised that his armor still holds, considering how much punishment it seemed to have taken. The same for Six's."

"Well, they're very utilitarian. Probably rugged, too." Blake mused.

"You gals do know they also had energy shielding, right?" Ruby said absentmindedly, making everyone turn toward her with eyes wide. She shrugged "What? It was obvious! The static electricity making our hair stand on-end emanating inches from the armor? The feeling of uneasiness? Didn't you feel like you were being pushed away by them or... Something?"

"Ruby... I think you're the only person in the world I know who would notice such infinitesimally stupid details and link them to that kind of insane theory." The Schnee Heiress looked to her partner with both pride and some surprise... Then she realized "Wait... That means those shields could possibly stop projectiles? So why are their armors still burned?" and looked to the others just as they reached the cafeteria doors.

"I'm surprised you took Ruby's theory at face value, Weiss..." Blake spoke.

"I'm questioning it by pointing out the flaw of damage, so I'm not exactly taking it at face value." She retorted. And then added "Then again, Shields do seem... Plausible...? We don't know their technology, do we? I mean, they _fell out of the sky..." _in whisper. "You all pointed out they may well be aliens. If that's the case, what kind of alien creates soldiers like these?"

"Can we think about it after breakfast, girls?" Yang offered. "We only got so much time."

The other three paused... And they shrugged it off, all agreeing silently to join the blonde. An hour had passed quickly while the two Spartans made the weapons prep and Six told the Chief the plan he came up with. The building they were going for was an old, run-down hotel near by the border between the Residential District and the high-end area of Vale. It was also a few blocks away from their FOB, so that made things much easier in case they needed to head out to resupply...

"I've got the place's security plan if you guys want it on your HUD. Several CCTV Cams, all linked to a central mainframe. They're old, so they aren't Rem-Net enabled, meaning I can only hack them from inside." Cortana explained, pulling up the plan of the five floors and that of the room where the meeting was being held. She continued "I've also intercepted com chatter on their net. Expect guards with PMC-tier weaponry. Anything they could get their hands on that was on the market, they got. This means armor-piercing and specialized Dust ammunition. Those rounds can be nasty if used right, so keep that in mind and try to prioritize shooting at anyone whose magazine has some kind of stripe or sign on it."

"Got it." Six responded, drawing his DMR.

"Mhm." Chief hummed, his AR at the ready. He flipped up the iron sights of the weapon, shouldering it and taking the safety off. The Bullhead's engines vectored, throttling up to stop the aircraft above an alley a few blocks away from the Hotel and out of sight. The pair disembarked then fell in, moving as quietly as they could through the narrow alleys. Chief had taken point, with Six not too far behind.

"Six, what's your plan here?" Cortana asked.

"First floor entry through the remains of the restaurant, to take out the CCTV. Then, we bust the elevator doors open and climb up through the elevator shaft, bypassing most of the enemy's forces." He noted, arranging a pair of C12 explosive charges onto his belt. "Before that though, I gotta plant a couple of bricks of C12 in the shaft, so we have a distraction and a way to take out any guards heading up the stupidly-built circular staircase around the elevator, to help or avenge their bosses. I think we can do it in around... 10 minutes? Sound good, Chief?"

"Not a bad plan." Chief noted, punctuating that with an approving nod. The two took a turn to the left, entering within the perimeter of the mission. "We're on the clock... Let's go."

The two saw the hotel, a rickety, messed-up place with little to no windows left. Most of its broken ones were covered up by now-soaked wood panels... Patrolling around the perimeter were 6 guards carrying what looked like modded SMGs, including red dots and lightweight plastic frames, as well as rail systems to mount other attachments. The first one, the one who spotted them, had his face make contact with Chief's hardened fist. His skull was caved in and he fell, dead before he even hit the floor.

Six threw his knife into another one, splitting off from the chief and pulling it out of the body as he reached his target, only to kick the man's head in as he ran and stab another one square in the chest, pinning him to the floor. The bastard's gun had a silencer... And Six was more than happy to relieve him of said gun. He swiveled about, raising the rickety weapon and spraying down two more guards that came to check on the noise.

On the other side, Chief had recovered two similarly set up guns, washing the enemy in a tidal wave of 9mm. The silenced gunfire made short work of remaining guards, leaving the last guards dead on the floor. The Spartans ditched the weapons and met on the north-eastern side of the hotel. Six gave a nod, raising five fingers. Five minutes. He punched in the panel and jumped over, kicking down another guard, before Chief joined him, throwing his own knife in-between the eyes of another. The two turned the corner into the small CCTV Guard room... Where one poor fuck was left... With a snap of his neck, the man fell.

Six leaned over the desk of the CCTV, before looking at one of the central operating units of the center and noticing a slit... He nodded to Chief, before switching places with him and drawing his own, unsilenced rifle as Chief slid Cortana into the slot. The girl chuckled, then said "Easy as pie, give me just half a second and..." the screens flashed and turned off. "Done. Let's go."

The Spartan took the chip, sliding it back into his helmet, only to turn the corner and see Six splitting the metal doors of the elevator open with his hands, denting whatever material they were made of. The shaft was a long, tall and wide one, big enough to fit a ten person elevator. To the left, John noticed the stairwell door. Single access point. Hmm... He went to one of the guards, took out two grenades and retrieved a thin wire... Six looked to the Chief, who began setting up the booby trap on the door. And with that, the two jumped onto the wire to begin their climb.

"Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, right?" Six quipped. Chief huffed in confirmation as the two continued to climb. When they reached around the third floor, the III of the pair began setting up the explosives on the walls... And the two floors up, again... He primed them to detonate, linking them to his TACCOM. He raised his finger. Two minutes... They were meant to reach their target in two minutes. That was easy...

Reaching the last floor, where the meeting was being held, Chief jumped over to the door and Six followed. The two leaned against it, trying not to gaze down, upon the five story drop. With two punches, the Spartans bent and broke the doors, sending one flying right into and crushing a guard... Six raised his DMR and fired twice. Two bullets punctured kevlar and a lung.

Chief swept the right of the Hall with automatic fire, sending a few more guards to their demise, before he once again led Six, who was covering their rears, forward.

"Door should be just ahead. One minute... Right on the mark, boys." Cortana quipped. "Detecting lifesigns... Yep, it's them."

"Kick the door." Chief said, switching places with Six as he raised his Assault Rifle and sprayed fire.

Six's armored boot met the door as he removed a grenade from his belt, hurling it inside. A ball of fire overtook the rear of the room... And anyone who was dumb enough to still be alive or stand up was met with accurate shots from Six's DMR, right between the eyes. Chief's gun clicked empty. He slid in a fresh mag just as a rumble came from down below... The idiots went downstairs to check on the CCTV...

"Six." Chief called out. "Now."

The Spartan dropped his half-empty magazine, reloaded a fresh one, then nodded. He looked to his TACCOM and, with the press of a button... The building shook inside out once again. Smoke billowed from the elevator shaft and washed the entire hallway and the rooms, blinding everyone but the Spartans as they made their way out. Heading for the roof, the pair flagged their evacuation bird and, just as quickly, it swung by...

As the smoke and cordite faded, the Hyper-Lethal vectors climbed aboard the bird, stowing their rifles and empty magazines away for reloading later and then sat down. Six sighed, then said "Another day, another nascent insurgency gone..." to himself, dusting the black embers that had come with the now-burning building off his shoulders. Chief nodded, sitting himself down...

And Cortana smirked "Att'er, boys... You're back in the groove already... Though I wonder how the news will play this up."

... oh.


End file.
